Softball Splits at SVC
BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Mitchell College softball team split a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Southern Vermont College on Friday afternoon, winning 7-2 in the opener before falling 9-4 in the finale at Willow Park.
In the first game, sophomore Shannon O'Neil finished with three hits and drove in six runs to lead the Mariners. Freshman Brittany Fiederlein took care of business inside the circle to pick up her ninth win of the season.
In the second game, Mitchell fell behind 4-0 in the first inning and couldn't dig out of the hole. Sophomores Alexandra Blanchette and Rivkah Berkman each had two hits in the game while Blanchette, freshman Samantha Ryan and sophomore Jenny Groman all knocked in runs.
Mitchell (12-17 overall, 8-6 NECC) will next host Daniel Webster College on Monday, April 21 at 3 p.m.
Game 1 – Mitchell 7, SVC 2
O'Neil gave the Mariners an early lead with a RBI single in the first. Mitchell later broke the game open with a four-run third inning, as O'Neil blasted a three-run homer—her second of the season—and Ryan followed with a RBI double.
After the Mountaineers put a run on the board in the third, O'Neil stepped to the plate again in the fourth and laced a two-run double down the left field line. The six RBI were the most by a Mitchell player this season.
Fiederlein scattered nine hits over 7.0 innings and allowed just one unearned run while striking out three and walking two. She improved to 9-7 overall on the season.
Game 2 – SVC 9, Mitchell 4
Trailing 4-0 after one, Mitchell loaded the bases in the second inning and got RBI singles from Ryan, Blanchette and Groman to cut the deficit to one. The Mountaineers responded with three runs in the home half of the second to pump the lead back to four, with Emily Fleming delivering a solo homer to lead the charge.
The Mariners gave up single runs in the third and fourth innings and got one back in the sixth, but Southern Vermont never let the lead slip away. Hayley McDonald picked up the win in the circle for the Mountaineers, giving up three earned runs on nine hits in 6.0 innings of work.
Senior Tricia Tomaselli took the loss for the Mariners. She allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits over 3.0 innings before Fiederlein came in to close out the game.